Parliament ratifies the cooperation agreement between Albania and Eurojust. The ratification of the cooperation agreement between the Republic of Albania and the European Union’s Judicial Cooperation Unit (EUROJUST) is considered a major step forward in the fight against cross-border organised crime. Albania will benefit from accessing Eurojust’s information systems as well as from sharing personal data and evidence with prosecutors and investigators from all over Europe with due regard to data protection. The agreement also creates the possibility to appoint a Liaison Prosecutor to Eurojust to further improve cooperation. Since 2015, Eurojust has supported Albania in 36 international investigations into serious cross-border crime, mainly concerning organised crime groups that engage in drug trafficking and crimes against life, such as murder, kidnapping and illegal trade in human organs.

Armenia’s draft 2019-2022 anti-corruption strategy under discussion. The draft strategy prepared by the civil society organisations indicates the main anti-corruption policy directions that shall be the baseline for conducting Armenia’s fight against corruption. According to Karen Zadoyan, coordinator of anti-corruption coalition secretariat of civil society organisations, the draft strategy is being discussed with representatives of different organisations and state officials. Deputy Justice Minister Suren Krmoyan, said that the strategy is innovative and aims to improve Armenia’s position in Transparency International’s ranking by 15 points.

Over 100 customs officers dismissed on corruption charges in Azerbaijan in 2018. Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee fired over 100 employees on corruption charges in 2018. The chairman of the Committee, Safar Mehdiyev, noted that in total, over 30 instances of corruption in the customs system were revealed in 2018. Mr Mehdiyev also emphasized that the committee will further continue the fight against corruption in the customs authorities.

Amendments to the Law on Ethical Conduct Rules for Deputies approved in Azerbaijan. On 18 December 2018, the President signed an order on the implementation of amendments to the Law on Ethical Conduct Rules for Deputies of Azerbaijan. The amendments established restrictions on the acceptance of gifts and other benefits. Furthermore, it included an improved definition of conflict of interest and provided for the Disciplinary Commission to ensure guidance in conflict of interest situations on the request of a Member of Parliament.

MONEYVAL confirms Azerbaijan’s progress in combating money laundering. Another progress report for Azerbaijan on the on the 4th evaluation round was discussed on 5 December 2018 during the 57th plenary meeting of the MONEYVAL Committee of the Council of Europe. According to the Azerbaijani Financial Monitoring Service, MONEYVAL positively assessed Azerbaijan’s AML/CFT system.

GRECO adopted the 2nd Third Round Compliance Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina. GRECO also requested the Head of Delegation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to submit additional information regarding the implementation of certain recommendations by 30 September 2019 at the latest. The evaluation report is confidential but will become public once the authorities of the country concerned express their agreement to the lifting of the report's confidentiality.

Changes to the Anti-corruption Law adopted in Bulgaria. Bulgarian lawmakers adopted amendments to the Anti-Corruption Act on 20 December 2018. The draft was adopted in first reading by the Bulgarian parliament on 14 December. The ruling party abandoned the idea of perpetual checks for unlawfully acquired property. The pending proceedings would be completed according to the previous order. The law also provides that in the event of terminated criminal proceedings, there should be no legal obstacle to the confiscation of illegally acquired property. The government also proposed that the term “confiscation”, previously used in the title of the draft law, to be dropped.

Bulgarian police seize huge amount of weapons during raids. On 5 December 2018, Bulgarian authorities announced that they have seized a huge amount of weapons and munitions during police raids in the capital Sofia and a small village in central Bulgaria. Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said the amount of high quality weapons confiscated by police exceeded that available to the country’s special force unit. Deputy Chief Prosecutor said that police found Kalashnikov automatic assault rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers and tens of thousands of bullets. According to investigators, some of the weapons were manufactured in a factory in central Bulgaria. One suspect has been detained.

New Constitution of Georgia enters into force. President Salome Zurabishvili’s inauguration on December 16 marked the entry into force of the new constitution, which completes the country’s evolution from a semi-presidential republic to a parliamentary system of governance.

Venice Commission releases recommendations for Georgian justice reforms. The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe has praised Georgian efforts to carry out systemic reforms in the justice field and provided its recommendations regarding the draft laws about the Prosecutor’s Office and the High Council of Justice, independent bodies responsible for the selection and dismissal of chief prosecutors and an unbiased judiciary in the country.

Georgia continues fulfilling the visa liberalization benchmarks - the document, submitted to the European Parliament and the Council, reports on the fulfilment of visa liberalisation requirements by five Western Balkan and three Eastern Partnership countries that have successfully concluded visa liberalization dialogues.

Jordan touts extradition of fake cigarette salesman to win over public on corruption. On 18 December the Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz touted the extradition and arrest of a businessman wanted for tax evasion and corruption as a sign that Jordan’s anti-corruption crusade will continue in a bid to win over a sceptical public and growing discontent over the economy and alleged mismanagement of public funds.

3rd meeting of the Stabilisation and Association Council between the European Union and Kosovo*. The EU-Kosovo* Stabilisation and Association Council reviewed the state of relations between the EU and Kosovo* at its 3rd meeting held on 17 December 2018 and had an exchange of views regarding developments in the Western Balkans. The European Union underlined the importance of the continued and effective implementation of the SAA, as well as contractual obligations including in the area of trade and customs. Moreover, reform priorities in areas including rule of law and judicial reforms, respect for fundamental rights, public administration reform, economic development, education and employment were also discussed.

Written exam for new prosecutors oragnised by the Kosovo* Prosecutorial Council. 128 candidates out of whom 36 are female sat the written exam organised for the recruitment of 10 new prosecutors for basic prosecution offices throughout Kosovo*.

Kosovo* Prosecutorial Council held its end of year conference. Speaking about achievements and challenges for the work of the prosecution system at the traditional end of year conference, the Chair of the Prosecutorial Council noted amongst others the efficiency of the prosecution in dealing with corruption and economic crime cases. The Chair informed the audience that 294 corruption cases were received and 281 or 96% of cases were solved, whereas with regard to economic crimes 301 cases were received and 317 were dealt with by the prosecution, the Chair informed.

Bill to strip ex-Presidents’ immunity approved in first reading in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz lawmakers approved in first reading a bill that would eliminate immunity for ex-presidents, potentially opening the path for the prosecution of the country’s former leader Almazbek Atambaev. 100 lawmakers in the 120-seat chamber voted for the bill on 13 December 2018. The parliamentary Committee for Legislation, State Structures, and Judicial Issues approved the bill in late November and it needs to be approved in two more readings by the lawmakers before President Sooronbai Jeenbekov can sign it into law.

Four judges involved in a bribery case suspended. Four of the five judges investigated in the bribery case initiated in October 2018 were suspended from their posts. This case also involved a prosecutor, a lawyer and several private individuals. The Superior Council of Magistracy positively replied to the request of the General Prosecutor to suspend the judges in order to allow legal action. According to the prosecutors involved in this case, the judges will also be charged with interference in the administration of justice and prosecution. The fifth judge involved requested more time to prepare his defence.

Prosecutor to stand trial for abuse of power. Following investigations by the Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office, it was alleged that the prosecutor from Glodeni had committed a number of violations, and has been charged with abuse of power and falsification of public documents. The prosecutor denies the allegations but has been dismissed, and is facing a fine, two to six years of imprisonment and a ban on holding specific positions for a period of five to ten years.

Anti-corruption cooperation platform with the private sector launched. In order to increase dialogue and collaboration on anti-corruption matters, the Competition Council and the National Anti-Corruption Centre launched a cooperation platform with the private sector. The platform aims at promoting integrity in business but also exchanging good practices and experiences. In turn, the participants will engage in implementing integrity standards, risk identification and management as well as in further building the whistleblowers framework.

Criminal charges pressed for laundering of more than €500m. The Police put forward criminal charges against 174 physical persons and legal entities, including six former and present employees of Atlas Bank, for money laundering. The investigating judge initiated an investigation against the president of the Atlas group and several suspects from his companies for alleged money laundering through the E-commerce service of Atlas Bank from November 2011 until November 2018.

The property of the Honorary Consul of the Netherlands in Montenegro seized. The Special State Prosecution has requested seizure of the several million Euro’s worth of property of the Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Montenegro, Mr Lambertus Vos. This property was previously frozen during the course of the money laundering investigation conducted by Dutch authorities, based on charges that he had laundered money through his real estate investments in Montenegro.

The State Audit Institution and Supreme State Prosecution of Montenegro pledge to jointly accelerate processing of economic crimes. On 5 December 2018, representatives of the State Audit Institution (SAI) and the Supreme State Prosecution (SSP) of Montenegro signed the Protocol on Cooperation aimed at making the process of identification and prosecution of criminal activities more efficient. The Supreme State Prosecutor underlined that the Protocol will be a tool to overcome two major obstacles to effective investigations: inability of the prosecution service to adequately understand and interpret findings of audit reports and lack of capacities of auditors to put forward sufficiently substantiated criminal charges. Signing the Protocol on Cooperation was one of the recommendations provided to the authorities through the CoE/EU Horizontal Facility Action against Economic Crime in Montenegro.

Morocco’s King appoints new head of Anti-Corruption Authority. On 13 December, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI appointed Mohamed Bachir Rachdi as the president of the National Anti-Corruption Authority (ICPC). The King instructed Rachidi to strive for the optimal implementation of the mission entrusted by the constitution to this national body, including coordinating, supervising, carrying out and overseeing anti-corruption policies and upholding the principles of good governance.

MoU signed between Moroccan and Palestinian Prosecutors’ Offices. Signed on 26 December in Rabat, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aims to develop the capacity of the two countries' public prosecutors departments to fight crime, corruption, money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Morocco’s DGSN tightens its grip on criminal networks in 2018. The Moroccan General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) issued its annual review of crime statistics and police achievements on 25 December. Accordingly, in the field of international cooperation, the DGSN executed 80 international information requests, including 44 letters of request relating to cases of drug smuggling and money laundering.

A cooperation agreement on preventing and combating corruption was signed between the Moldovan and Romanian Governments. The agreement signed in Chisinau on 19 December 2018 provides for the strengthening of the cooperation relations between the two governments and the creation of an interaction mechanism in the field of preventing and combating corruption. The document also sets out the possibility of exchanging experts to identify best practices in the fight against corruption, intensifying the exchange of data and operative information, and increasing the number of joint investigations.

Romania Government survives censure vote over judicial overhaul. On 20 December 2018, Romania’s government survived a no-confidence vote over a contentious judicial overhaul that opposition politicians say has harmed the rule of law and democracy. Lawmakers voted 161-3 to dismiss the government, far less than the 233 needed.

Government wants prosecutor opposed to legal changes out. On 20 December 2018, Romania’s Justice Minister asked the President to dismiss the country’s top prosecutor, who has accused the government of undermining efforts to fight corruption. The development puts Romania at odds with the European Union just before it assumes the EU’s rotating presidency on 1 January 2019. Tudorel Toader said he was officially requesting that President Klaus Iohannis remove Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar from his post for mismanagement. Lazar has been an outspoken critic of a judicial overhaul that critics say would make it harder to prosecute high-level corruption.

Russians have begun to give and take bribes more often, although officials regularly report on the adoption of new anti-corruption measures. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office report on the results of 2018, bribes were up by 10% more than last year in Moscow, the Moscow Region and the Krasnodar Territory. In total, 3,171 cases of receiving a bribe and 2,251 cases of giving a bribe to an official were registered. About 7,000 people were brought to responsibility for corruption crimes this year, including 790 police officers, 600 managers in private companies, 500 officials in local government and 495 military personnel.

The Russian Investigative Committee reported that the majority of corruption cases in 2018 were initiated against the staff of the Ministry of Interior of the Russian Federation (MoI). Over 790 employees of the MoI were brought to criminal responsibility. Deputies are the next ones in the list of bribe crimes - 502 officials whose cases are under investigation. The tax service employees violated the law least of all, 18 tax specialists became defendants in cases of bribes.

The Head of the Russian Investigative Committee Alexandr Bastrykin puts a cost on corruption in Russia. He stated that corruption in the Russian Federation over the past 7 years has exceeded 123 billion roubles (approx. 1.8 billion US Dollars).

President of Council of Europe anti-corruption body GRECO among key speakers at international conference in Belgrade. Marin Mrčela, President of the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) will speak at the opening of the conference “Implementation of Corruption Prevention Mechanisms” on 13 December in Belgrade. The conference is organised by the Serbian Anti-Corruption Agency and will look at best practices and lessons learned in resolving conflicts of interest; assets and income declaration in the regional context; challenges and success stories in corruption risk assessment, as well as preventing corruption through control of financing of political activities.

Serbian Armed Forces continue with integrity building efforts. Serbian Armed forces (SAF) have continued the implementation of planned activities dedicated to the integrity building efforts and lessening the risks of corruption in the 2018. The Integrity Development Plan in the Serbian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the SAF, in the passing year, was based, inter alia, on participation in the NATO Building Integrity Programme, a NATO-led capacity building programme providing practical tools to help nations strengthen integrity, transparency and accountability and reduce the risk of corruption in the defence and security sector.

Serbian capital’s £2.56m taxpayer-funded decoration budget met with outrage and accusations of corruption. Anti-corruption activists and Serbia’s independent media have condemned the decorations as a superfluous expense. They point out that the spending siphons much-needed funds from dilapidated services. The protests caused such outrage that Belgrade’s now-former mayor, Siniša Mali, promised to cancel the tree contract and find a less expensive supplier. This winter, the cost of decorations was set to rise to no less than 340 million dinars [£2.56m], which is a 40% increase on last year.

House arrest instead of custody for accused businessman. The Special Public Prosecutor’s Office requested house arrest instead of custody for a number of accused persons in the “Empire” case, a case that was opened by the Special Public Prosecutor’s Office focusing on the business empire of the richest man in the country Orce Kamcev and his business connections with the ex-chief of the Office of Security and Counter Intelligence Saso Mijalkov. In the “Empire” case 13 individuals are suspects of criminal association, damage or privilege of creditors, abuse of office, fraud and money laundering. Additionally, the Special Prosecutor’s Office requested house arrest in a difference case for the former Minister of Transport and Communications Mile Janakieski and former government Secretary-General Kiril Bozinovski, who are indicted in other SPO cases.

INLUCC's President says lobbies seeking to impede enforcement of Governance, Anti-Corruption Legislation. President of the National Anti-Corruption Authority (INLUCC) Chawki Tabib underlined the need to enforce a number of anti-corruption and governance laws in the face of lobbies moving in the opposite direction to protect their interests. Mr Tabib also shed light on obstacles hampering the asset declaration process and urged civil society and the media to act in a bid to change mindsets and push for the adoption of implementing laws.

Anti-Corruption Court to be set up in February, President Poroshenko says. On June 7 2018, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law on the High Anti-Corruption Court, which President Petro Poroshenko hopes will be created by February 2019.

Cost of corruption: Ukraine loses $8.6 billion annually to poor management and graft, study finds. Ukraine pays dearly for corruption, its shadow economy, ineffective rule of law, and inefficient state management. According to a new study presented by Center for Economic Strategy think tank on 4 December, the cost of those woes could total a whopping $8.6 billion a year in lost investment, tax payments, and other revenue-raising opportunities — that’s 7.6 percent of GDP of $112.13 billion.

Most experts don't trust selection of judges system to anti-corruption court – survey. Some 60.1% of experts do not trust the system of selection of judges to the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine (HACC), introduced by the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine (HQCJ), according to an expert survey conducted by the Social Monitoring public opinion survey service and the Oleksandr Yaremenko Ukrainian Institute of Social Studies.